Is A Low Carb Diet Safe For Kids?

The views on whether a low carb diet is safe for kids are mixed.

Some people believe that kids benefit from low carb diets because they lower their wheat and sugar intake.

They believe parents don’t need to be as strict about having a child in the healthy weight range because their insulin sensitivity is more sensitive than adults are so they can handle carbs more efficiently.

The View That Low Carb Diets Are Safe

For those who feel that kids are safe on a low fat diet, they need to think about which foods are beneficial for kids for things like their lunch boxes. They think that families of kids eating regular carb diets just put two slices of bread, some peanut butter, or salami together and that’s good enough for their child’s lunch. The wheat in the sandwich is 80 percent carbohydrates, which means they will soon be hungry again.

People who feed their kids a low carb diet take away the bread in their child’s meal but keep the parts that are nutritious, such as the salad, mayonnaise, cheese, and meat. They feel that the child won’t be deficient in nutrients by giving up the carbs. For them, bread is a filler and not necessary in their child’s diet. They believe that eating a low carb diet high in good fats, proteins, and vegetables will more than compensate for the vitamins and fiber found in high carb diets.

While everyone’s been told to eat whole grains, the scientific evidence indicates that when whole grain flour is turned into white flour, there is a reduction in diabetes, heart disease, and colon cancer. By eating more vegetables in a low carb/high fat diet, your child will get the benefit from this and that makes up for the loss of vitamin B and fiber that happens when they stop eating wheat products.

Starting A Low Carb Diet

Starting a low carb diet is not very difficult. The following tips are suggested when starting your child on a low carb diet:

Think about how many vegetables are in your kid’s diet. A good low carb diet still should contain plenty of carb-rich vegetables. The same is true for healthy fats. Just keep out anything made with sugar and flour, as they have no nutritional benefit.

Use cold meat as a wrap. Wrap a slice of roast beef or ham and put some vegetables or cheese inside. Roll them up as you would a wrap, and you have healthy low carb meal.

Start slowly. If you have a kid that is a fussy eater, he or she won’t want to go “low carb” right away. Change just one thing at a time, such as removing the bread first but keeping everything else the same.

Get a lunch box with small compartments in them. Instead of a lunch box, use a tackle box that has small compartments to put their low carb foods in them.

Think about what you would generally put into a sandwich and give your child that without the bread. Kids will enjoy picking through the sandwich fillers and grazing on low carb foods.

Low carb diets are extremely popular. They use high fat, high protein foods while getting rid of the legumes, fruits, and grains that add to the carb count in high carb diets. Your teenagers might be particularly interested in low carb diets as they promise some sort of weight loss.

The View That Low Carb Diets Are Bad

Those that think that low carbs are bad for kids report that the wheat in carbohydrate-containing foods causes poor absorption of vitamins and leaky gut syndrome. Wheat contains gluten and amylopectin, which can cause allergies in kids. Bread and similar products, like wraps, are highly processed and provide little nutrition. Wheat has a high glycemic index that leads to a rapid influx of sugar into the child’s bloodstream.

They believe that children need carbohydrates. Experts feel that about half of all the calories kids eat should come from carbohydrates. According to these beliefs, the body’s preferred energy source is carbohydrates in the form of yogurt, milk, vegetables, fruits, and grains.

They don’t however believe that you should give kids the carbs found in baked goods, candy, and sugary beverages. Instead, they should eat healthy carbs, such as those found in fruits and vegetables. You don’t need bad carbs in order to stay healthy.

Those who believe that low carbs are bad for you think that drastically lowering the carbs in your child’s diet may be bad for them. Cutting back on carbs can lead to several types of nutrient deficiencies, and is low in vitamin B and fiber.

Additionally, when you lower the high carb foods in your child’s diet, there isn’t much left for them to eat. Kids load up on fat and protein to make up for the lack of carbohydrates.

Low carbohydrate diets can lower a child’s energy level, which can be problematic for kids who are athletes.

What options do I have for Keto-Friendly Dinner recipes?

For a keto diet, it may seem like your options are very limited, especially when it comes to keto dinners.

Hell, you seemingly have so many restrictions on what you can and can’t eat, it’s no wonder a lot of people feel restricted with their meals, let alone their dinners.

The initial shock is understandable, but if you take the time to look around, you’ll see that your options are actually limitless. You just need to make sure you have the proper ingredients, just like any other cooking recipe.

Soon I am going to tell you 16 dinner recipes that anybody on a keto diet can use and enjoy.

Since this is going to be on a keto diet, I’ll let you know the number of calories, fats, proteins, and net carbs in each dish. Knowing this will allow you to keep up with your macros so you can stay in line with your goals while keeping your taste buds from getting bored with the same things over and over again.

Here is a quick side note about some of these dinners. They may not require vegetables as a part of the recipe. You may want to add vegetables as a small side dish. However, you’re going to want low carb vegetables to stay on top of the keto diet. That’s just something to keep in mind as you go through these recipes.

Awesome Keto Dinners with Chicken

As you’ll quickly find out, chicken can easily become a staple for you in the ketogenic diet. It’s relatively cheap and there are just so many different meals that you can do with it.

Don’t hesitate to buy a lot of chicken breasts, freeze them, and then take them out in portions when you need them.

Oven Baked Chicken Cordon Bleu

If you’ve never had cordon bleu before, it’s an amazing combination of chicken and ham. Yes, it tastes just as good as it sounds. When the juices from both types of meat mix together, they make for one of the most delicious meals I’ve ever tasted.

Chicken Avocado Casserole

Yes, this is another casserole but the joys of casseroles are that almost no two are the same. There are so many combinations of foods that you can put together that can be made into a casserole.

You can probably add anything together, throw it in the oven, add some cheese on top, and call it a casserole.

This casserole is special because it has a superfood in it. Avocados are one of the healthiest foods on the planet. It’s filled with numerous vitamins and minerals that play a major factor in your overall health.

If you like guacamole then you’ll love the taste of an avocado basically blended with chicken in a casserole.

Thai Pork Salad

Sometimes, you may not be in the mood for a meal that is going to feel heavy in your stomach. That’s understandable, we just aren’t in the mood for a big meal all the time.

A lot of the time, a salad is the best route to go. With this recipe, we aren’t talking about a dinky side salad that will barely will you up at all. We are talking about a salad that will help you keep up with your macros without causing you to feel overly stuffed.

It’s good to mention that this also has an Asian flair giving your taste buds a slightly different take on a traditional salad you may be used to.

Chicken Fried Pork Chops

Going to college in South Carolina, I had my fair share of chicken fried foods. Safe to say, they were nowhere near as healthy for me as this dinner is.

The taste is just as amazing as other chicken fried pork chops I’ve had, but knowing that this version is keto friendly and much better for me, makes me not miss the traditional chicken fried pork chops at all.

Trust me when I say this meal is one you will not regret having once it touches your taste buds.

Awesome Keto Dinners with Beef

Cumin Spiced Beef Wraps

These beef wraps can act as a full meal or as a quick snack, depending on the amount you choose to consume.

The recipe calls for 8 wraps, but that counts for 2 servings.

The wraps themselves are going to be lettuce, which is perfect for this keto diet. It may not have the same consistency as a regular tortilla or something similar, but the taste is going to be about the same. Eventually, you’re going to forget how a tortilla actually tastes. Lettuce wraps will be all you know and you won’t regret it.

Coffee Infused Ribeye Steak

Anybody will be the first to tell you that I usually find anything with the word coffee in it absolutely disgusting. Even if you say it doesn’t taste like coffee, I will find a way to taste it. Coffee and I do not mix at all.

So, when I heard about this recipe, I thought there was absolutely no way I could enjoy it. The recipe calls for coffee salts. The name even has coffee in it.

However, this is one of the few “coffee” items that I can actually stomach and enjoy. It’s very simple to make. Season the steak with the salt however you like, cook it the way you desire, and enjoy. It’s as easy as that.

Awesome Keto Dinners with Seafood

Oven Fried Tilapia

When most people hear fried, they automatically associate it with fast food or food that can’t be good for you.

Well, it all depends on the way you fry the food. Not everything fried is going to be bad for you.

You are technically baking this meal so you don’t have to worry about the fish being soaked in oil that’ll make it all greasy and undesirable.

Before baking the fish, you are throwing the rest of the ingredients on top of it so that when you do place it in the oven, all the flavors can blend well together and create a fish that is packed with flavor.

Stuffed and Wrapped Shrimp

Shrimp is a personal favorite of mine and I can tell you that when you just add more great flavors to an already delicious entree, your taste buds will do nothing but thank you.

The great flavors I was talking about are bacon and jalapenos. Yes, you have a few other ingredients that will play a role in this meal, but those two are the standouts other than the shrimp.

This recipe should be pretty easy to follow and stuffing the shrimp shouldn’t be a problem. Also, since the bacon doesn’t take too long to cook, you can have a delicious meal waiting for you in minutes.